Overrunning clutch



' Patented` IIuly 3G, 1940` 2,299,459 y OVERRUNNING' CLUTCH poration of Delaware Application March 3,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to overrunning clutches and rmore particularly to overrunning clutches used .in starter drivers of electrical starting apparatus for internal combustion engines. The type 5 of starter drives to which the present invention relates is one in which there is a unitary structure comprising an overrunning or one-Way roller clutch connected with the starting motor arma@ ture shaft by longitudinal splines and having a pinion attached 'to the driven member of the clutch and slidably longitudinally into mesh with theywheel gear of the engine to be started. This unitary structure is moved along the armature shaft of the motor by a foot-operated shiftl5 ing device in order to mesh the pinion with the engine flywheel gear. This shifting device also controls the starting motor switch. The shifting device is spring returned to normal position thus demeshing the pinionfrom the engine after it has been started. The overrunning clutch is intended to prevent driving the starting motor by the engine in high speed when the engine becomes self-operative and before the pinion demeshing spring has been released. It occasionally happens that the overrunning clutch does not overrun with the result that the motor armature is driven with excessive speed by the engine and the windings and commutator segments of the armatureare dislodged by centriiugal'force.

Itis the main object of the present invention t provide an overrunning clutch which can-'be depended upon to overrun at all times. In the conventionalform df overrunning clutch used with engine starting devices, the rollers of the clutch are spring urged into wedging relation between y the surfaces provided by an inner driving member out of wedging engagement. This may bedue to friction arising from grit getting into the clutch and preventing the rollers from beingreleased from driving connection between clutch members.

0 In order to overcome this dimculty I provide -a clutch in which therollers are not normally in fdriving relation withrespect to the inner clutch cam and the outer clutch shell. -Instead of the spring urging the `rollers into driving relation as 551m the conventional clutch I provide an exactly Inother 193s, sei-isi No. 193,623

opposite relation. I provide for the spring urging the rollers into non-driving relation so that the rollers arenot normally set for driving the clutch shell in either direction Withrespect to the clutch cam. Inorder to bring the roller into driving relation with respect to the cam and shell, I depend on inertia of theclutch rollers and of a relatively heavy roller cage which holds the rollers in spaced relation'. I am able to take advantage of this inertia effect owing particularly to the fact that the electric motor which is employed to start the engine is a series electric motor and, therefore, is one which very quickly accelerates on no load. Due to the fact that the clutch cam is very rapidly started into rotation and that the rollers and cage are relatively heavy and lag behind due to inertia, I am able to effect al drivingrelation between the cam rollers and shell even in opposition to the spring means which tends to move the rollers at all times into a non-driving relation between the cam and shell.

Further objects and advantages of the present. Y

invention will be apparent from the followingl description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly-shown.`

' In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of an engine 'l starter drive embodying the present invention;

Figures 2 and 3 are sectional views taken respectively on the lines 2-2 and 3 3 of'Figure 1; ,and .l

Figure 4 is a fragmentary, sectional view of the overrunning clutch and is drawny on a largerscale in order to illustrate its operation.

Referring to the drawing, a starter motor armature shaft 2t is provided with splines 2| :by which the shaft is drivinglyconnected with a sleeve 22 to which the clutch driving members or .cam 23 is attached. Sleeve 22 provides a bearing bushing 2t which slides along a plain portion 25 of shaft 20. The cam 23 is equilateral, there being eight equal sides ,in the particular cam illustrated. Each cam side cooperates with a roller 26vpocketed in a roller cage 2l. The cage 2l is fabricated from side rings 2t and 2i! which are held in a fixed spaced relation by blocks' 30, .which in Aturn hold the rollers 25 in a denite spaced relation. The side rings and the blocks are secured together by rivets 3l. As shown in Figure 2", the ring 29is provided'with a notch S2 into which extends the end 33y oi a singlev turn spring 34. The spring-end 33 extends into a hole in the cam 23. The other end 35 of thespring .extends into a hole drilled into one of the rivets 3|. The spring-ends 33 and 35 are biased away from each other; therefore, the springtends to urge the cam 28 clockwise andthe ring 2 8 counterclockwise. The parts ar'e held normally in the position shown in Figure 2, the right-hand edge 32a of the notch 32 bearing against'the spring end 38. In this position of the roller cage 21, the rollers 28 are held normally-in non-driving relation with respect to the inner clutch meinber or cam 23 and the outer clutch member or driven shell 31 to which the starting motor pinion 38 is connected. The clutch parts are held in assembled relation by a retainer disc 40 having a flange di which is spun into a groove 42in'the clutch shell 31. A washer 43 is located between the retainer plate 40 and the spring34.

The assembly of the overrunning clutch and pinion is moved along the shaft 20 by suitable shifting lever, not shown, having studs received in the groove 44 provided by a flanged shifting collar 45 retained on the sleeve 22 by wire split ring 46 which is received by a groove in the end of the sleeve 22. Between the 4collar 45 and a shoulder 41 provided by the sleeve 22 there is located a compression spring 48 which transmits movement from the collar 45 to the sleeve 22 in a direction to move the pinion 38 into mesh with the flywheel gear of the engine to be started. The function of the spring` 48 is to permit the closing of the starting motor switch by the shifting leverin case the ends of the pinion teeth abut the end of the engine flywheel gear teeth.

The clutch which I have illustrated is arranged to be used with a starting motor which drives its armature shaft 20 counterclockwise or in the'diure 4, that roller 26 does not touch the shell 31,

but it merely rests on the cam 23. This is true with respect tothe three upper rollers shown in Figure 3. The opposite is true with respect to the three lower rollers which rest upon the shell and are out of engagement with the cam. 'I'he two other rollers which are midway between the three upper ones and the three lower ones gravitate upon the blocks 3B of the cage 21. At any rate all of the rollers 26 are normally' in nondriving relation with respect to the cam and shell of the clutch. They are all urged into the non driving relation by a movement of the cage which is produced by the spring 34.

, The starting motor which. drives the shaft 20 is` is practically no load on the motor; hence, the v shaft 20 accelerates v'e'ry'rapidly from rest, driving with it the cam 23 which rotates from the full line position 23a in Figure 4 to the dot-dashline position 23h, while the other parts of the clutchv tend to remain stationary due to their inertia.- By making the clutch cage 21 as massive as the space will permit, I am able to take advantage of the inertia and the lagging behind of the clutch, cage and rollers as the inner clutch cam 23 accelerates. Due to the fact that the cage and rollers lag behind while the 'cam accelerates each roller is moved into a driving relation with respect to the cam and shelll its driving position being indicated by the dot-dash-llne circle 26h inFlgure 4. As'soon-asthe engine becomes self operative and it tends to drive the clutch shell 31 at a rate faster than the motor tends todrive the clutch cam, the rollers 28 will be releasd` from wedging position and they will tend naturally to move into non-wedging-positlon; and

' this natural tendency will be aided by the spring embodied inthe present invention it is apparent that the clutch comprises a driving cam, wedging rollers and a driven clutch member providing a cylindrical surface, each of the rollers being capable of wedging relation with rpect to a surface of a cam and the cylindrical surface of the clutch driven member. Spring means are employed to urge the rollers normally into nonwedging relation with respect to the clutch cam and clutch driven member. 'I'he spring means acts upon the rollers through a cage which is massive in construction so that it presents appreciable inertia thereby causing the clutch rollers and cage to lag behind the clutch cam when it accelerates from rest. Due to the lagging behind of theiclutoh, rollers and cage. the clutch cam, by driving ahead, wedges the rollers into driving relation with respect to the cam and the clutch driven member. When `the engine becomes self operative and tendsl to drive the clutch driven member ahead of the clutch driving member the clutch rollers move into non-driving relation, this relation being aided by the spring which is biased to normally hold the rollers in the non-driving relation.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be vunderstood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within .the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. An overrunning clutch for engine starter drives comprising a driving member or cam operated by the shaft of a series electric motor, said cam having a plurality of wedging surfaces, a driven member having a cylindrical surface, a plurality of rollers, one for each cam surface, located between-the cam and cylindrical surface of the driven member and adapted' to be wedged by a movement of the cam relative to the rollers into driving relation to the cam and driven member, and a cage 4between the cam and driven member for locating the rollers in spaced relation, and a coil spring connecting the cam and cage for urging the rollers normally into non-driving relation with respect to the cam and driven member, that portion of spring connected with the cam bearing against a portion of the cage toI serve as a stop limiting the position ofthe cage to one in which the rollers are normally located in non-driving relation with respect to the cam .and driven member.

and driven member for locatingthe rollers in wv lll - spaced relation, said cage and rollersl being oscil- \latablerelative to'the cam, means limiting the range of cage oscillations and. providing a positive stop at one end of the range in which the rollers' vance of the speed of the drivingmember, to

restore the non-wedging relation of the rollers.

3. An overrunning clutch for engine starter drives comprising a driving. member havinga cam with a plurality of wedging surfaces, a driven member having a .cylindrical surface,a plurality of rollers, one for each cam surface, located between the cam and cylindrical surface of the. driven 20 mmber and adapted tobe wedged by movement upon initial operation of the y 3 of'the cani relative to the rollers into driving relation with the cam and driven member, and

a cage between the cam and driven member for locating the" rollers in spaced relation, means providing limited angular movement between the cam and cage, one limit of said movement incorporating positive stop means for the nonwedging relation of said rollers, and spring means biasing the cage and cam against4 their respective stops, whereby the rollers are Anormally free of -the wedging relation, said cage having a substantial mass such that cage and rollers'lag behind the cam as the cam is accelerated from rest, whereby, due to the inertia of the cage and rollers, relative movement between the cam and rollers is obtained suicient to cause the rollers to be drivinglywedged betweenthe cam and driven member..

ROBERT H.' HILL. 

